Follow Your Dreams Pt. 1

(Author’s note: I’ve just come to the realization that today is actually Dan Avidan’s birthday – someone who I’m going to mention throughout the course of this post, and then address again next week. So happy birthday to you, Dan! Thank you for the inspiration, the laughs, and the sweet sweet NSP dreams. Best wishes to you for the coming year.)

If you know me in person, you’ve probably heard me talking about my latest fascination: the band known as Ninja Sex Party, comprised of Ninja Brian and Danny Sexbang. (Oh yes, it’s just as glorious as that makes it sound.) It’s comedy music and heaps of silly, and it’s been bringing a great deal of joy to me ever since I found it. (For anyone wondering how I came across such a thing, Danny is also part of the Let’s Play channel Game Grumps, which is where I saw him first. Yay gaming nerddom!)

“But Rion,” you may ask. “Why are you talking about some random music/gaming/comedy band on your writing blog? Do they write things outside of their music?” No, not that I know of. I bring them up because I want to take a look at something I recently found out about Ninja Brian and his involvement with the band.

Brian Wecht is a married man with at least one child. Prior to all of this, he had been teaching as a professor of theoretical physics at a university. As with many professors, Brian had a PhD in his field.

Let me reiterate this. Brian Wecht has a PhD in theoretical physics.

And if I’ve gotten my dates right, about a year ago now, he left his teaching position so that he could devote himself full-time to being one half of Ninja Sex Party, a band on the Internet that sings about sex and dick jokes. This is a band that has produced such tracks as “Everybody Shut Up (I Have an Erection)” and “No Reason Boner” and “Accept My Shaft.” The two members’ personas are a Jewish superhero and a homicidal ninja who are “best friends.”

He has a doctorate in theoretical physics.

And yet this is what he’s chosen to do. NSP has become successful enough so that he can leave his professorial job and be in the band full-time, and still support his family.

This is absolutely amazing to me.

For Dan, it surprises me less. He’s been pursuing a music career of some kind for quite a while now. More serious projects never quite got off the ground, sacrifices of all kinds have been made just to keep his head above water. To my knowledge, it’s just Dan that Dan has to look out for monetarily. So being Danny Sexbang in addition to his work with the Game Grumps makes sense. This isn’t the first risk he’s taken–but it may be the first that’s truly panned out the way he hoped it would. (Whether or not he expected it to may be a different story.) And that doesn’t make Dan’s sacrifices and dedication any less than Brian’s, trust me. I give him a world of credit. Not many guys I know would be comfortable being Danny Sexbang. (And I’m absolutely not going to complain about being able to watch someone as ridiculous[ly attractive] and talented as Dan Avidan cavort around on video. Damn.)

But seeing Brian set aside something that a lot of people, especially in my field, would give their right arm to have…so that he could follow a passion, a dream–that is truly amazing. It reminds me that no matter how crazy a dream may look on the outside, it’s always worth pursuing. Whether it be devoting oneself to writing novels about whatever crazy worlds come to mind, or being a murderous ninja who never says a word, it’s worth doing and it’s worth doing whole-heartedly. If you believe in it, dedicate yourself to it. The dream deserves that much from you.

NSP has just come out with an album of covers from the 70s and 80s, and has been overwhelmed with how positive the response has been. It’s probably the first album they could consider “serious” music that they’ve put out, and for a band which banks on songs like “FYI I Want to F Your A,” that’s a brand new risk. But the fanbase answered the call and overwhelmed them with support and pre-orders. (I for one wasn’t going to pass up the chance to have “Take on Me,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Jump,” and the amazing cover they did of the Last Unicorn theme all on a CD.) They’ve put out several messages and videos thanking us all for our support and love.

No, Dan and Brian. Thank you for reminding me to pursue my dreams, no matter how crazy the world may think they are. I hope that someday I’ll be able to meet you in person, shake your hands, and thank you individually.